Fade Away
by Ravinae
Summary: What happens when you use a random number generator and the National Pokedex? You get this story! Sindri, bearing nothing but a borrowed name and one memory, must acclimate to her new home as the only Zoroark anyone's seen in over twenty years. Now we throw in a little danger to the mix and create a hero out of the misfit! Rated T for swearing
1. Something is Wrong Here

**So! Here we are starting another story I really shouldn't. Oh well, shit happens. This story is unique because I used to pick the Pokémon characters out of the National Dex, minus Legendaries of course. I couldn't very well have the main character be Deoxys or Jirachi... Seriously, that's the first two that the number generator chose! Super weird… Anyway! I hope you all enjoy and read to your heart's content. **

_Ah, damn. Why does everything ache?_ I came to my senses slowly, grimacing at the pain that followed the sense of smell. Every part of my body ached, like I'd been rolled down a hill in a barrel. _God damn, did I get mugged?_ I tried to drag up memories, any memories of what could have happened, but nothing came forward. _Must have been one hell of a night if I blacked out like this._ But the deeper I searched, the more scared I became. Not one memory came up, nothing from childhood, nor any of my more recent life.

My eyes flashed open when I realized that I had none left. I quickly closed them again in a hiss of pain, the sunlight too bright for my corneas to handle. I curled up and tried to orient myself. Facts first. One; I was lying outside somewhere. Two; I could not remember anything… at all. Three; I didn't know where I was or who I was and I had no idea how I got there. The situation was looking more and more depressing by the second. Rather than let myself wallow in self-pity, I decided to do something.

Slowly, I opened my eyes again so I could at least take in my surroundings. From what I could see, I was smack dab in the middle of a thick forest. There were no trees in the immediate area, the grove I was lying in, allowing the sun to warm my back. No matter how hard I concentrated, no memories popped up to tell me if I knew this place or not. I was frustrated and scared. For all I knew, I'd been kidnapped and dumped in the forest to die!

Fed up with just lying there, I attempted to crawl to my feet. But when I brought my hand in front of my face to push myself up, I froze in shock. To my core, I knew this was wrong and these claws were not mine. Every nerve in my body screamed, "WRONG!" But why was it wrong? Why did my core reject these claws? I flipped them over and studied them, watching the sunlight glint off their smooth, red surface. My gaze wandered up my arms to my torso, absorbing the grey fur and thick plume of black on my chest. I ran my claws over my head, discovering two pointed ears and an extremely thick mane of black tipped, red fur.

_This is not your body_, my mind screamed.

_But what was __**my**__ body?!_ I cried mentally.

_Human_

The word ghosted through my thoughts, barely giving me enough time to recognize it before it was sucked back into the vacuum of my memories. Human, that's what I was, not this wolf thing. I puzzled over the picture in my head. The same rough shape as the body I possessed now, but there was less fur and a no snout, just a small nose. How could I have gone from one to the other?

A sharp crack made me jump, snapping me out of my answerless thoughts. Something broke a twig, or a branch, something close. Stunned as I was from my realization before, I was frozen in my spot, only having enough sense to whip my head towards the sound. Butterflies filled my stomach, bringing nausea with them. At first nothing happened, making me think I was just a little high strung. Then the bushes rustled as something emerged from them.

It was a fox, a nine-tailed fox with cream colored fur and small paws that didn't look large enough to hold his weight. He was grumbling to himself and looking behind his fan of tails. He sighed deeply, catching his breath in his throat with a look of confusion. He sniffed the air, swiveling his head to look straight at me. We stared at each other for a good minute and a half before he coughed, sending up a plume of fire. My heart was pounding so hard I nearly thought it would tear out of my chest. This was a fire-breathing fox and it was staring at me as if _I_ was the weirdest thing there… which I probably was for all I knew.

"Buizel!" he called behind him, not taking his eyes off me. Hearing his voice startled me worse than when he appeared. Feeling my muscles unlock, I did the first thing that came to my mind and ran. "Hey wait!" I didn't stop to see what he wanted, I just ran like there was a stampede behind me. I could hear him curse before loping after me. He kept shouting for me to wait, but I was scared witless and wanted to be somewhere where I could gather my thoughts.

It was strange running in a body that wasn't mine. Everything moved the way I wanted it too, and I had sharp reflexes that kept me from smashing into any trees… but the smells and sounds were so intense. Everything assaulted my nose and clamored in my ears. The leaves I brushed away and the branches I whipped by were like gunshots. The berries and flowers flew by in a never ending attack of smells.

I could hear the fox steadily gaining ground on me, probably more familiar with the landscape than I was. Plus he didn't have to shove branches out of his way, just jump over a few bushes. Seeing that I was screwed if I just kept running, I did the opposite and stopped. The nearest tree looked climbable, so that's what I did, I climbed it. My claws sunk into the bark as easily as a knife through frosting, carrying me to the closest branch in seconds. The leaves around me created the perfect shadow to conceal myself in, lending their darkness to me for the time being. The butterfly feeling in my stomach had only gotten stronger, making me feel like I was going to be sick.

The rustle of leaves alerted me to the fox, crashing into the area without any regard for the plants he was trampling. I held my breath and wished for him to keep going. But I must have jinxed myself because he stopped right under my tree, sniffing the air like a bloodhound. He paced back and forth like he was waiting for something. It couldn't be me, because I was not coming down as long as he was waiting there.

"Nyyyyne!" a tinny voice shouted, making me start and grip the branch tighter. The fox just grinned and set himself at the base of my tree. "I swear Nyne, this is the last time I partner up with you!"

The bushes rustled as a small, orange weasel pushed through them. He had a large yellow collar, blue fins on his elbows and a forked tail that nervously spun in circles. He looked really irritated as he glared at the fox.

"Shh!" the fox shushed the weasel's whining, pointedly looking up into my tree, his gaze brushing past me just barely. The weasel huffed, obviously offended.

"I will _not_ 'shh'! You left me behind! You think everyone can ghost around the trees like you can, but let me tell yo-" The fox slapped a paw over the weasel's mouth and shushed him again.

"If you would kindly shut up and let me explain," he hissed, "I could tell you a perfectly good reason why I ran ahead." The weasel sighed against the fox's paw and peeled it off his mouth.

"Fine, this had better be good." The fox grinned from ear to ear and whispered something too quiet for me to hear. The weasel's eyes nearly bulged out of his head and he looked like he wanted to say something, but the fox stopped him with a shake of his head and another pointed look up. The weasel looked up with him, but his eyes glided right past me.

"You'd better not be lying to me Nyne," the weasel threatened. The fox chuckled quietly before answering.

"Trust me. Have I ever lied to you?" The weasel did not look amused.

"Yes. Several times, in fact. Once about my own mother." The fox sighed in dramatic hurt.

"Given. But have I ever lied to you about something like this?" The weasel shook his head slowly, much to the delight of the fox.

"Well then, where is it?" the weasel asked.

"Just watch," the fox said, sending shivers up my spine, before he turned his face up towards where I was. "You don't have to hide from us. I promise on my own mother's grave that we just want to talk. Honestly and truly." The weasel snorted.

"Your mom ain't dead, Nyne," the weasel mumbled. The fox shot a glare at the weasel that could melt stone. I made no move to come down. Instead, I sank my claws a little deeper into the wood. The fox smiled crookedly and mumbled, "Gotcha."

Taking a deep breath, the fox blew out three little, blue fireballs that seemed to dance upward. I thought, _What kind of fire is blue_? It was almost mesmerizing, until I realized they were aimed straight at me. Panicking, I ripped my claws out of the tree branch and tried to backpedal away from the flames. Of course, being in a tree and all, my foot landed on empty air and I plummeted to the ground, straight into a bush.

I was lucky that the bush and my fur cushioned my fall, but it made no difference to my already aching muscles. I groaned and tried to climb out of the bush, only to get my head yanked backwards when I stood up. My mane of fur had gotten tangled in the branches of the bush. I tried to pull it out, but the tearing of hairs just brought tears to my eyes.

"I can't believe you were telling the truth, Nyne." I whipped my head around and saw the fox grinning triumphantly and the weasel gawking at me like I was a freak show.

"Told ya so," the fox quipped oh so cleverly. "You know, you can stop flickering like that. I'm getting a headache." _What did he mean by that_? I wondered silently.

"Hell dude, you probably scared it to death chasing it like that," the weasel said. "I know that if I were it, I'd be scared shitless."

"I have a name!" I snapped, tired of being called 'it'. My voice sounded rougher than I thought it would, but at least it was still feminine. The two of them jumped at my yell and the fox started laughing while the weasel blushed.

"Oh? And that would be…?" I opened my mouth to answer the fox, but nothing came out but a squeak. A name, I had to have a name! But the more I tried to think about it, the worse my headache got. It was like my own brain didn't want me to know.

"Graaaaah!" I yelled and held my head in my claws as I sank to the ground. I stopped searching for my name just to stop the pounding pain inside my skull. This was all just too much. First I didn't know where I was, then I didn't know what I was, now I didn't know _who_ I was. So I did the logical thing; I started to cry. It was pitiful, pathetic even, I know. One of them made an uncomfortable noise and shifted from foot to foot.

"Hey, are you all right?" I looked up from my claws just enough to recognize the fox's face.

"No, I'm not all right," I answered through my hiccupping sobs. "I don't know where I am, I have you chasing me, pushing me out of trees and I can't even remember my own name. I'm tired, I ache and I can't even remember why!" I broke down again and just sat there, sobbing in front of a couple strangers. I was pathetic.

A tugging on my fur ceased my sobbing when I turned to look why. The fox was gently easing the strands of crimson fur out of the branches little by little. The weasel still didn't look comfortable, but he sat in front of me anyway.

"You know, you don't have to take this on by yourself," he said. "Nyne and I can help you. Actually, that's kind of our job."

"To help lost amnesiacs?" The fox laughed lightly.

"No, just anyone in need… and you look like you need help." He smiled kindly and offered a paw to help me up. I was unsure of whether or not to take it. On one hand, they were absolute strangers that could be serial killers for all I knew. On the other… what did I have to lose? I didn't even have memories to treasure. The weasel noticed my hesitation.

"Look, the least we could do is get you back to town. If you don't want anything to do with us after that, then you can go whichever way you want. Deal?" I felt my face lift out of the frown I was wearing as I grabbed his paw and let him pull me up. It was funny, once I was standing, because he was nearly three feet smaller than me.

"Okay," I agreed.

"Done!" the fox said happily, apparently done pulling all my fur out of the bush. He pranced to stand in front of me. He was nearly as short of the weasel, maybe a foot or so taller. "Well then, Nameless, I'm Nyne and my partner-for-the-day here is Buizel. It's nice to meet you." He smiled warmly, maybe a bit too intensely, but at least he wasn't shooting fireballs at me. I tried again to remember a name, but nothing but a headache came.

"Nice to meet you too. I guess I'm nobody." Nyne frowned and tapped his paw on the ground. Maybe it was an old habit.

"Well, we certainly can't call you 'nobody'. We'll just have to give you a name until you remember yours."

"How about Slash?" Buizel asked quickly.

"You realize I'm a girl, right?" Buizel looked hurt that I shot him down so quickly.

"Excuse me for trying!" I'd offended him. He must be a tetchy kind of guy.

"Luna?" Nyne tried; another no.

"Red?"

"No."

"Beatrice?"

"Seriously?" Nyne scoffed at my rejection.

"Kiva?"

"No."

"Jinx?"

"No."

"Kalley?"

"Nu."

"Gale?"

"Nyet."

"Verity?"

"Non."

"Tryss?"

"Nein."

"What?" Nyne's confused face made me giggle like a kid. Buizel laughed with me, though I'm pretty sure he didn't get why it was funny.

"Weirdos. What about Sindri?" I turned the name over in my head, testing it on my tongue before nodding.

"I like it. Sindri it is." Nyne smiled victoriously and stuck his tongue out at Buizel. I had not realized it had become a competition in that short span of time. "So what now?"

"Well, now that you at least have a name, we need to help you get your memory back. It's not like we've got anything better to do." Nyne seemed so ready to help and sincere about it. Something inside me told me not to trust him so readily, but I ignored that feeling.

"Did you forget we have to get back to the guild tonight?" Nyne's face fell in realization.

"Fine. Hey, maybe Sirius will know how to help Sindri!" Buizel thought about it, rubbing the fur that stood up on the back of his head.

"Maybe, but let's just get back to town first."

"Who's Sirius?" Nyne smiled happily, like he just solved my problem.

"He's our Guild Master. You'll like him, don't worry." Buizel took the lead, heading back the way we came from. Though he was the smallest in our little ragtag group, he seemed the most level-headed. Nyne chattered away, talking about everything from birds to his past adventures. It seems he was part of a guild that specialized in exploring new places and helping others.

Buizel sighed every once in a while, correcting Nyne's stories where he embellished them. It was adorable the way they bickered back and forth about little details: whether Nyne used Will-o-Wisp to distract an angry Ryhorn, or he used Ember. Whether Buizel got knocked back three feet or two and whether Nyne actually saved that one Starly or he just made it up.

"So were you exploring these woods today?" I asked. Nyne shook his head in the negative.

"We were finding a few lost things for Forretress. He keeps dropping his bag out here, so he wanted us to find a few of his orbs and TM's. I was actually trying to find the way back when I stumbled into you."

"You scared the crap out of me, I hope you know that." Nyne chuckled, lighting up the air with a few puffs of flame.

"Well I'm sorry, but no one's seen a Zoroark in a long time. I thought I was hallucinating at first." _A Zoroark? Is that what I've become?_

"A what?" Nyne looked at me like I've lost my mind. Buizel stopped leading and looked at me in the same way.

"A Zoroark… you don't even know your own species' name?" Buizel asked, his eyes running up and down my face.

"Well… maybe I'm not supposed to be a Zoroark!" I snipped back, self-conscious about his accusatory question. "Maybe I'm supposed to be human!" Both Buizel and Nyne stared at me with blank expressions. I felt the need to elaborate. "It's the one thing I know, I remember. I'm not a Zoroark, I'm a human. I don't know why- or even how –this could happen, but it has."

"Holy shit, Sindri. When you have a problem, you don't half-ass it, you do?" I felt a little grateful that Nyne didn't make a big deal out of it, but Buizel didn't feel the same.

"Problem? Problem?! I'd say this counts as a big fucking problem, Nyne!" He shouted. "Humans don't just turn into Pokémon!" Nyne just brushed past Buizel. He looked back at us as if to ask if we were coming or not. I hurried after him and Buizel did, though he wasn't happy about it.

"Look Buizel, we can't do anything about it right now. As I see it, the least we could do is ask Sirius if he knows anything and go from there. If we don't hurry we'll miss dinner." Buizel didn't seem like he could have argued with Nyne, so he just followed instead.

"I'm sorry Buizel," I apologized quietly. I didn't know why I was saying that, but I didn't want them to fight because of me. Buizel dragged a paw over his face in a tired gesture.

"It's fine. I'm just tired and hungry. I get grumpy when I'm hungry or tired." He smiled haltingly to tell me it was okay. I returned his gesture just as warily, still concerned about being a burden. It wasn't long until the woods thinned and we found a path to follow.

Nyne, apparently knowing the trail, led us down it confidently. Another few moments passed before the woods stopped altogether. None of us felt like talking, admiring the sunset or commenting on the faint stars. We just kept trekking down the dirt road. It was almost eerie the way nothing passed us or came near. I had started to think this part of the world was abandoned. When a signpost appeared at a crossroad, Nyne turned to the right. I tried to read the words on the wooden arrows, but either my vision was going bad in the weak light, or the letters were footprints of various animals.

Buizel pulled me away from the sign and after Nyne. I felt like a child being led like that, but I didn't let go of Buizel's paw. The thought of meeting more Pokémon made me nervous. What if they didn't like me? What if they weren't as nice as Nyne and Buizel? What if they wanted to know who I was? I tried to stop the flood of worries. Overthinking this was just going to make me sick.

The path started to get surrounded by trees again, though these were weeping willows instead of the broad trees of the other woods. I liked these drowsy trees, the way they offered cascading branches and emerald slivers of leaves. Buizel stopped short and I nearly walked right over him. Turning around, I was stunned by the edifice in front of me.

It was a palace, a palace made of amorphous, speckled, black and white stones. The whole thing looked a little eerie in the early light of the moon. Pennants on top of the outer walls slumped without any wind to display them. A light passed back and forth on top of the wall.

"Hey! Wisp!" Nyne shouted. "We're home!" The light turned around quickly and peeked out from one of the stone valleys made by the shape of the wall.

"Good to know. You missed dinner by the way," the light answered. "You'll have to wheedle something out of Sandslash. Grovyle will let Sirius know you're back, so don't worry about reporting to the Guild Master until tomorrow morning."

"Thanks man!" Nyne called before striding through the large, iron gate. The pointed ends to the gate did not make me feel comfortable passing under it, but I wasn't going to get left outside. The inside was a large reception room, decorated with torches and bright rugs. The room split off in three directions, one to the front, one to the left and one to the right. Nyne turned left and led us down the left hallway. It was lit brightly with more torches, one stuck into the wall every few feet.

"Nyne," I prodded at one of his tails. "You didn't tell that person about me." Nyne nodded.

"No, I didn't. But if Wisp didn't notice you, then it's his fault. He's supposed to know how to do sentry duty." Buizel rolled his eyes next to me.

"Nyne, you can be such a dunce sometimes. I'm going to bed, see you tomorrow." Buizel waved at us as he took an offshoot hall to somewhere else.

"Bye," I called after him, feeling a little more scared now that I only had Nyne by my side.

"Come on, Sindri, we're gonna go see if Sandslash has anything left." I followed Nyne the same direction we were going in the first place. Soon, smells filled the air. Smells of food that made my stomach rumble like thunder. Nyne laughed at my blushing and picked up his pace.

The hall ended in a large, wooden door. I guessed it blocked off the kitchen, seeing as we were looking for exactly that. Nyne stopped in front of it and paused when he put a paw on it.

"Sindri, why don't you wait here? I'll get us some grub and we can go eat it in my room." Nyne darted through the door before I could say anything, so I settled for waiting. I didn't want to sit down, because the way my muscles ached, I knew I wouldn't be getting back up for a while. So to fill the time, I studied one of the tapestries on the wall.

It showed two rivers, one a dark blue and the other a lighter shade. Between the two waters were two groups, one defined by orange and the other by violet. I wasn't sure if they were fighting or just two different peoples. I tried to get a closer look, but Nyne came back out of the kitchen with a pouch slung around his neck.

"Thanks Sandslash! You're a life saver!" I heard a nasally voice laugh and thump something down.

"You owe me a favor now Nyne!" it said before the door closed. Nyne turned back to me with a big smile on his face and puffed out his chest.

"Shall we go then?" I smiled at his playing and nodded. Nyne led the way back down the hall, taking a left when the first one showed up. After three tapestries, one painting and a right turn, Nyne threw open a door to a room. "Welcome to Casa de Nueve. Make yourself at home."

The room was sparsely furnished with two dressers, two straw beds not very far from each other and one large rug. I sat on the bed that looked unoccupied, sighing when my muscles all relaxed. Nyne sat on his bed and opened the sack on the floor. It was full of berries of every shape and size.

"Sandslash didn't have any warm food, so we have to settle for berries tonight," Nyne explained. I grabbed the closest one, a small, pink one that was shaped like a heart. It was very sweet, bursting with juice. I had to stop it from running down my chin, much to the amusement of Nyne.

Once we ate all the berries we could stand, Nyne told me I could have the bed for the night. I thanked him and was glad he didn't want to switch. I couldn't have if he wanted to. I was so tired that I couldn't rack up the will to move anymore.

"We'll talk to Sirius in the morning," he told me, yawning widely. "He'll probably know what we can do." I yawned after him and grunted in reply, already drifting off to sleep.


	2. We're Off!

"Nyne!" I mumbled in my half-asleep state and rolled over, straight onto something warm and fluffy. Trying to fall back asleep, I ignored the voice calling for Nyne. "Nyne!" A hammering at the door followed, irritating me. Shoving the fluffy thing I was pretty sure was Nyne, I buried my face into the bed.

"Nyyyyyne, tell them to go away," I mumbled to him. He did nothing but rolled onto his other side and started to snore.

"Fine, but when you're late, don't expect me to cover your ass," the voice said before finally leaving. Happy that the disturbance left us in peace, I curled back up and went back to sleep.

Of course, it didn't last long. It felt like I was only asleep for a few minutes before a pounding at the door woke me up again. Shoving Nyne with my foot, I told him to answer his door. He growled sleepily before picking himself up and trotting over to open his door.

"Yeh?" I heard him say tiredly.

"Nyne, why weren't you at meet this morning?" a deeper voice asked.

"Oh crap! I overslept?!" Nyne yelled. I heard the deeper voice chuckle and it took a step closer.

"Yes Nyne, you did. I expect more from you young man. Make sure you ge-…" the deep voice just cut off. The next thing I knew, I was lifted off the floor by my neck and my head slammed into the stone wall. Struggling to take a breath and trying to see past the spots in my vision, a canine face appeared in mine. It was blue with a black mask, large ears extending upward and a snarl humming it its throat.

"Master!" Nyne shouted in shock.

"What are you doing here, demon?!" the dog yelled at me. More spots swam in my vision, the edges turning black as I gasped for air.

"Master, don't hurt her!" Nyne yelled, trying to peel the dog's paws from my throat. "Please, stop!" The dog's grip let go and I fell to the floor, heaving great gasps to try and stay conscious.

"Nyne, explain this now!" Nyne balked at the dog's commanding voice, stature, look, everything. Every time he tried to start explaining, puffs of fire were the only things to come out.

"Hey, Nyne I brought you some breakfast. I thought since you over-" Buizel's face turned ash white as he turned into the room. "Oh… shit."

"Buizel, what is this?" the dog barked, glaring daggers at my weasel friend. Buizel dropped the food he was holding and started stammering an answer.

"W-well when N-Nyne and I w-were on the j-job last night, h-he went ahead, s-s-so then I r-ran after him. That's w-when he bluffed S-Sindri out of a t-tree. Sh-she was lost and s-scared a-a-and we c-couldn't leave h-her there, s-so we brought h-her back t-t-to the guild. W-we got b-back so late, N-Nyne figured w-we'd report t-t-to you this m-morning after meet." The dog's furious red eyes narrowed at his explanation, but he didn't call Buizel a liar. The butterflies returned to my stomach, throwing a party with a flock of moths too.

"No, Sindri!" Nyne said quickly. "I promise you'll be fine. Don't go disappearing again." I disappeared? Again? I tried looking down at my arms and sure enough, I couldn't see them. As I panicked, the invisibility flickered off and on. Why was I disappearing?! The butterflies got stronger and the flickering stopped, leaving me completely invisible. I darted to my feet and ran out the door, scared to death of the canine creature.

"Sindri!" Buizel yelled as he felt me brush past him. I didn't care where I was going, as long as it was somewhere else. I dashed down the halls, taking each turn I came across. Eventually I chanced upon a set of stairs that led upward and I followed them. They led to the top of the walls on the castle, wide enough for three people to walk shoulder to shoulder. Another set of stairs at the corner of the wall spiraled up into a tower, most likely a place to watch for enemies in the past.

I finally collapsed at the top of the tower, breathing heavily from my panicked running. I was glad no one was there, but I also wanted Nyne or Buizel with me. Both of them made me feel safer when they were around. Sitting back on my heels, I thought about the dog that hated me so furiously. Was it that I came in last night without permission? No, not that.

He called me 'demon'. What did he mean by that? Were Zoroark bad creatures? Was that why he was so angry with me? Did _I_ do something to him in the past? But I had been human, hadn't I? That couldn't be it. So why did that dog get so angry when he noticed me?

I sat there for a while, turning things over and over in my mind. I heard my name being called a couple times, but it wasn't Nyne's voice, or Buizel's, so I stayed where I was. After only meeting that dog for a minute, his voice already sent fear through my heart. I couldn't get the image of those blood red eyes and wicked snarl out of my head. I rubbed at the bruises I could feel forming on my neck.

It wasn't until the sun was setting and my stomach was growling that someone came and found me. I hoped it was Buizel, but when I saw the blue fur, I was disappointed. The dog's eyes still betrayed irritation, but at least he wasn't going for my throat. The butterflies making a reappearance, I flickered in and out of view a few times.

"That's not going to work," the dog told me. "I can see your aura. I've known where you were all day." Gulping down my terror I stared blankly at the dog. He sighed and sat on the floor, crossing his legs and putting his paws on his knees.

"Nyne and Buizel told me about last night and I want to believe them, but I need to hear your side of the story first. So take as long as you need because we aren't leaving until you tell me." Trying not to shrink away from his hard stare, I ran my claws through my mane, gathering my thoughts.

"That's just it, I don't know my side of the story," I said quietly, my voice trembling in fear a little. "I woke up in the forest out there and I couldn't even remember how I got there. I can't remember anything from before those woods. No names, no childhood, no past life, nothing! When Nyne found me, I ran away from him because I was scared and confused. He caught up to me and Buizel caught up to him. He blew fireballs at me to get me out of a tree and Buizel offered their help. So I followed them back here and your gatekeeper didn't notice me, but Nyne said that was fine. So I let it go and slept in his room. That's it. You know the rest."

The dog nodded and cracked his knuckles, making me flinch with each pop. Then he said, "Fine. I believe you. Nyne also mentioned one thing, a very important piece of information."

"The insane notion that I remember being human?"

"Yes. I'm not going to deny that it is impossible... He said it was the only memory you had." I nodded and looked down at the floor, sondering about that pause after he said it wasn't impossible. I heard the dog sigh and tap the ground with his paw curled into a fist.

"I don't even know what I am anymore, Sirius. I've changed into some creature that I know I wasn't and I don't even know the world I've woken up to."

"I never told you my name." I smiled and chuckled sheepishly.

"Nyne said his Guild Master, Sirius, might know how to help. And he called you Master, so one could assume…" When I looked up, a small smirk was spread across the dog's face.

"Clever," he admitted. "Now, I apologize for how I acted this morning. My experiences with Zoroark in the past were not… pleasant. I am willing to put aside my grudge to help you. But I can't focus all my time on one Pokémon, I have a guild to run. So, I propose that you join my guild until we find out how to solve your particular problem. You don't have to. You can go get a job out in town and rent a house from Golduck, but I would rather keep you around here so I can keep an eye on you."

"You don't trust me?" I asked.

"No, not yet, at least." I felt hurt that he didn't trust me, but I realized it was only natural. Who would trust a creature whose species hurt them in the past?

"You said Pokémon earlier, what's that?"

"Pokémon are what we are as a collective, like humans. There are many different species, like me, a Lucario and you, a Zoroark and Nyne, a Ninetales and so on and so forth." I thought about my options. I didn't want to leave Nyne and Buizel, but I wasn't so sure about staying here with Sirius either. It spoke droves about his character that he was willing to let me join his guild when he didn't trust me.

"Okay, I'll join your guild. But what about your other members? What will they think about me? Zoroark haven't been around for a while, at least that's what Nyne says. And I'm guessing they weren't a very friendly species." Sirius sighed and tapped the floor with his fist a few times. I could tell he was trying to think of something to tell me, but I didn't see any ideas in his face. He sighed again and looked me straight in the eye.

"I can't promise you'll fit in right away, but I can promise my apprentices will not bully you. They'll have me to answer to if they do." I shivered inwardly at the remark. I'd seen how scary Sirius could be and I never wanted to see it again. "So, do we have a deal?" He offered a paw and I took it, shaking it once before he let go.

"So… now what?" Sirius smiled, a real smile that made me feel a little better.

"Now, we go get dinner." My stomach loudly agreed to that, making Sirius' smile a little wider. "I'll introduce you to the other apprentices tomorrow morning, since dinner was over a while ago." I looked out the tower window and saw the moon starting to glow.

"So that's just it? I'm a member of your guild now?" Sirius held open the door to the stairs for me.

"Well, after I find you something to eat, we'll have to get you a badge out of my office, and a scarf too… or maybe a hair ribbon. But yes, that's all there is to it." I didn't like the idea of a hair ribbon; it would probably just disappear in my mane.

Sirius led me back to the kitchen, motioning for me to wait outside the door like Nyne had the night before. It didn't take him long to gather some food and say goodbye to Sandslash. When we got back to his office, he pointed to a chair for me to sit in, and he took another on the other side of the desk. Setting the berries on the table, he started pulling drawers open.

"I know most Pokémon like their favorite colors, but the scarves I give are special." He dumped a pile of purple shaded fabric on the desk to sift through them. "They match your aura colors. I've found most Pokémon receive encouragement from having their personal colors on display, along with my insignia." He shoved all the purple scarves back into the drawer and opened another. Grabbing a pear shaped berry before it could get lost in the folds of fabric, I watched as he shuffled through a rainbow of textiles, looking at me repeatedly before shoving the colors away again.

"Aha!" he shouted, pulling- hopefully –the last scarf out of his desk drawer. "That's why you're so hard to pin down. Your aura is silver, reflective, not always itself." He handed me a length of fabric that sparkled in the torch light. The scarf looked like it was woven out of silver thread, but it felt like regular cotton. On the bottom edges, a small emblem was woven into the fabric in black thread. A blade stabbed through the center of two thick swirls. "That is our symbol for determination: cutting through any obstacles in our path."

There was something about this symbol that felt familiar, like I've seen it before. I traced the straight edge of the sword and tried to unearth the memory that seemed to be trying to claw its way to the surface. But I couldn't find it, I could only feel the pounding pain that came when I try to remember things. Frustrated, I pushed away the feeling and looked back at Sirius again. He held out a dulled metal badge decorated with a star and a pearl set in its center.

"This is your badge, complete with name and Guild. Do not lose it and do not break it." I nodded quickly at his stern look. "Tomorrow I'll have Nyne show you around, maybe even send you two out on a mission. But for now, go to bed. The apprentices all meet an hour after sun-up. Don't be late."

"Thank you, Sirius, for everything." He smiled ruefully and waved me out the door. I exited and wandered my way back to Nyne's room, surprised I knew the path to go. He was sound asleep when I pushed open the door, so I tiptoed my away around, and over, his many tails. Collapsing onto the pile of straw, I sighed in relief. Tomorrow might be crazy, but tonight… tonight was nice. I was accepted into Sirius' guild and he was going to help me figure out how to get my past back.

My eyelids started to droop and I yawned. Before I went to sleep, I thought about the symbol for Sirus' guild. I wondered why it seemed familiar to me, yet I didn't think I had seen it anywhere in the forest or in the guild the first night. _Was it something from my past?_ I wondered. _Had I seen it when I was human?_ But sleep could not be denied by my questions, so I let it wash over me and pull me into a strange dream.

_It was the same forest I woke up in, but everything was in black and white, like an old photograph. Everything was still and gloomy. My dream-self shuddered and looked around the grove. So much for having a good night's rest. When I turned my gaze around, a flash of light nearly blinded me before a small, pink, cat… thing zoomed into my face. _

_"You need to stop it, right now!" she berated me. I blinked in confusion, wondering what exactly she was talking about. "You know damn well what I'm talking about young lady. Your memories aren't coming back, so quit looking for them." _

_"You know where my memories are?!" I shouted, ignoring her command. "Give them back!" She grimaced and poked my forehead with her stubby arm. _

_"You don't need them right now. What you need is to get used to that body and get strong." I growled at her, pissed that this puny thing would take my memories and refuse to give them back. _

_"No! You give them back. They weren't yours to take in the first place!" She smacked my forehead, actually causing me pain. _

_"I had absolutely every right to take them. You and I made a deal long ago. I promised to do you a favor and you promised to do this for me. So quit whining and get your butt in gear." I tried swiping at her, but she popped out of existence, then back again to my right. _

_"How the hell am I supposed to live up to a promise I don't remember making, huh?! And why would I make a promise to a bitch like you?!" She giggled and popped out of and into existence around me in circles. It was like she was taunting me. _

_"You really are still overprotective, good to know." She giggled again and patted my head. "I'll give your memories back when your promise is fulfilled. Ta-ta!" She popped out once again, this time, she didn't come back. I screamed in frustration and tore a chunk out of the nearest tree. _

_"You little bitch! I'm going to pound you into dust!" I clawed a deep gouge into another tree, letting out all my rage against that little pink furball. Shredding tree after tree, I destroyed the once picture perfect grove. But in the midst of my fury, I became scared of myself. How did I hold this much rage over one thing? I immediately sank to the ground and put my claws under my knees. I wasn't this kind of person, or I thought I wasn't. I didn't want to be that kind of person. _

_I would not become a monster. I would not become the monster that Sirius expected of me. I would not let my ire drive my actions, but I would not let the things and the people I treasured be taken from me so easily. Right then, in my dream, I swore I would protect the things I held dear and I would not slip into darkness like I had so easily tonight. _

Gasping for air when I woke up, I shuddered at the images left burned into my mind from my dream. I tried to shake them away, but the clawed trees and the ripped bark would not vanish.

"Sindri?" I jumped at Nyne's voice. "Are you all right?" He looked worried for me, but I smiled to let him know I was okay.

"Yeah, weird dream is all." Nyne gave me a weird look, but left the subject alone.

"Well, Buizel came by to wake us up. Congrats on joining the guild, by the way!" The smile he sent my way was so warm and encouraging I couldn't help but smile back. "Let's go to meet, then I'll show you around Lazuli Town." I nodded in agreement and he led the way out into the halls.

Turning a few times, Nyne brought me back to the front entrance. There was no one here, just like the night before, and only a few torches burned, letting the sunlight light up the place through the windows. Nyne turned into the hall to the left, the one that was straight forward when I entered the palace the other day.

This room was gigantic! The ceiling soared high above our heads, beams criss-crossing back and forth across the ceiling. Wooden poster boards were hung on the walls. I counted three filled with rainbows of flyers and papers. I couldn't read any of them because the script was that weird footprint language. This room was deserted just like the other. I was starting to wonder where all the Pokémon were when I heard a bunch of talking coming from the next room.

"Come on Sindri, meet's about to start!" Nyne led the way through the next door, smiling broadly as he yelled, "Hey guys!"

"Wow Nyne, you actually made it this morning!" a metallic voice laughed.

"Here we thought you'd miss two days in a row," a rough, girly voice commented.

"Damn, Cubone, I owe you ten Poké." A raspy voice chuckled and cheered a bit.

"Yeah, yeah guys. Shut up, will ya?" Nyne drawled, prancing through the door and leaving me to follow. I stood halfway in the doorway, my nerves screaming at me to run away and hide. I was such a coward, sitting there and letting my timidity rule my actions. "Are you coming Sindri?"

"Who's Sindri?" a tiny voice asked.

"Do we have another apprentice?"

"Really?! Yay!"

"Nyne, who is it?"

"Yeah, Nyne, spit it out already!"

"Nyyyyne!"

"Hey, back off already! Sindri, you wanna come and say hi?" I saw that I had no choice but to grow a pair and introduce myself. I stepped through the doorway and walked up to stand at Nyne's side. I waved a bit with a nervous smile.

"Umm, hi," I said quietly. Everyone's eyes were boring holes into me. A small, pink cat standing next to a tall, feline with a pink ear dropped its jaw. A blue and white snake, a grey, shelled creature and a small green dinosaur all stared straight at my face with no shame whatsoever. A floating, blue disc and a brown thing with a skull over its face whispered to each other. Buizel smiled at me and poked a blue, quadruped Pokémon with thorny ears and spikes on its back. A purple bat hovering next to a white and red sloth creature nearly fell to the floor when it forgot to flap its wings. Lastly, a black, lamp with purple fire blazing inside it turned to a green, lizard-ish Pokémon with leaves on its wrists and made a noise of disdain.

"Ah! I see you've met our new apprentice," Sirius' voice split the silence that had been growing ever more awkward as the seconds passed. "Everyone, this is Sindri. She will be training with us from now on. I don't want to hear of any bullying, got it?"

"Yes sir," most of the guild said in unison. A few still stared at me, but most turned back to face Sirius. Standing next to him was a short, pink flower thing with a happy face in the middle of its petals.

"All right, youngsters!" she addressed them excitedly. "Since yesterday got a little chaotic with the missions on Hail Mountain, I want you all to make sure you check in your missions with me before you go out. Castform can tell you about the weather when you're going out, so please try to check in with him. Do your best and let nothing stand in your way!"

"Yes Ma'am!" the apprentices shouted happily. The flower smiled broadly at their response. Sirius smiled proudly as well.

"Now off to work. Don't get lazy just because there isn't a lot to do around here. There are a lot of jobs in the Chattering Forest and the Ice Plains." The apprentices all made noises of agreement and the flower nodded in return. Sirius and the flower both exited the room, leaving me with Nyne, Buizel and a bunch of Pokémon I didn't know. I had to stop a whimper from sliding past my lips.

"Nyne! You need to tell us about this now!" the sloth thing demanded. Most of the apprentices crowded around Nyne and me, causing my stomach to fill with butterflies again. Nyne noticed when I started to flicker, as did most of the Pokémon.

"Back up guys! You're scaring her!" Nyne shouted, pushing some of them back. "Geez, you'd think none of you have seen a Zoroark before."

"Nyne, no one's seen them for, like, forty years!" the grey, shelled creature said. "Of course we've never seen them. Most of us weren't even born when the Zoroark and the Zorua disappeared."

"Yeah, yeah. Just cool it, okay? Sindri is shy." Nyne smiled at my erratic self. "I promise they're nice. Just give them a chance." I felt the butterflies flutter away and I regained my visibility.

"Everyone, this is Sindri," Buizel introduced. "Sindri, these are our guild mates." Most of them just stared blankly at me. I tried to smile, but it probably came out more of a grimace. The green one with the leaves on its wrists sighed and stepped forward, putting out a claw for me to shake, which I did… hesitantly.

"Hello Sindri, I'm Ivy." She smiled a little and I did too. "Wisp, the Lampent over there, is my partner. We guard the guild as sentries." The lamp bobbed in the air for a greeting. The blue and white snake tapped the green dinosaur with its tail and slithered forward.

"I'm Dratini," she said, "and this is Axell. It's nice to meet you." The green dinosaur waved and the snake beamed at me. The shelled thing didn't seem so happy to greet me. It stayed where it was and stared at the two reptiles like he was mad at them.

"That ball of grief is Drake," Axell said, jerking a thumb at the shell. "He's a bit hard to get along with, but he's a good guy." I smiled at Drake, but he ignored me.

"Well, we might as well introduce ourselves. I'm Cubone and my friend here is Psych." The brown one with the skull face scared me when he came up behind me. The disc floating next to him- Psych –smiled at me. I was starting to get a little uncomfortable with all the smiles.

"I'm Zubat," the bat interjected. "I'm happy to meet ya. Even if I did end up losing the bet I made with Cubone because Nyne had to be your escort." I didn't know how to respond to that, so I didn't. The red and white sloth crossed her arms and humph'ed at me.

"I'm Vigoroth and that's all you need to know." I didn't like her brusque attitude, but I never expected to be easily accepted in the first place. In fact, Drake and Vigoroth were the only two that actually reacted like I thought they would.

"Well, you've all met her. I'm gonna go show her around Lazuli Town, so y'all should get to work." A bunch of them giggled and slapped their foreheads.

"You're not our Master Nyne!" Dratini said in-between her giggles. Most all agreed but went to the room with the boards anyway. Nyne smirked at me and I smiled half-heartedly back. I felt like this wasn't going to be so bad, maybe not at all.

"Let's go Sindri. You're gonna love the town, I know it!" Nyne pranced out of the room and proudly held his head high. I chuckled lightly at his character and followed readily.

* * *

**Hey all! I'm glad I've already got followers on this project! It makes me all warm and fuzzy on the inside! 3 Luv ya peoples. I'd like to know what you think of the story so far, so if you could review it that would be awesome. Or you could be all weird and not review, crushing my already fragile sense of self-confidence. Ya know, what ever fits. Read on fellow authors! ~Ravinae**


End file.
